I think the hardest thing about No-S probably isn't the idea of three meals a day and no snacks. It's that pleasure has a real and legitimate place. I think that many of us are so used to the crazy strictness of extreme dieting (not sure if you went through much of that as a teenager) or the reverse freakout of being sick of that level of deprivation and we get into a cycle of hating ourselves for falling short of a so-called perfection that isn't perfect or even real.

I being to suspect that most people who struggle with excessive S-days still feel in the backs of their mind that food-type pleasure isn't really okay or desirable. Hence the insistence on the term "cheat day." They can't wrap their minds around a legitimate piece of pie at an appropriate time.

God knows I saw enough of that in the gym this morning among a lot of the discussion of the holiday past. When I commented that Thanksgiving is a legitimate feast day, you would have thought I was advocating eating babies._________________------
My blog http://noelfigart.com/blog/ I talk about being a freelance writer, working out and cooking mostly. The language is not always drawing room fashion. Just sayin'.

I think the hardest thing about No-S probably isn't the idea of three meals a day and no snacks. It's that pleasure has a real and legitimate place.

So true! (and beautifully put).

This too:

Quote:

I being to suspect that most people who struggle with excessive S-days still feel in the backs of their mind that food-type pleasure isn't really okay or desirable. Hence the insistence on the term "cheat day."

I agree with Noel. The idea of celebrating with food (= 'emotional eating') is being demonized in our increasingly health-conscious society. 'Food is fuel' - right? And nothing more, apparently.

No S succeeds in giving emotional eating an appropriate, moderate place, but culture still finds its way to make ourselves feel bad about it. Eating a piece of cake is so deeply connected to the idea of 'giving in', 'breaking your diet', 'indulging' - it's hard to resist that._________________Expectation exists when there is fear.
- Swami

Wow, this really struck a chord with me! I have been active lately on another wellness/diet website, with a different ethos from NoS, in general. Over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the difference between the average participant there and here is really striking. I wouldn't be able to count up all of the people who say they went off their eating program for 1-4 days, but are struggling to get back on it. The phrase "I'll get back on program tomorrow" has occurred many times. There is also the issue of forbidden foods eaten on Thanksgiving day and how bad people feel about that.
On NoS, I love being able to eat a good hearty meal on Thanksgiving, food of my choosing, and take a break from the S freedom for an N day, and then have a nice moderate weekend. It's great to know that I don't have to feel guilty about what I eat on a legitimate feast day._________________-Sonya
No Added Sugar. No Snacks and No Seconds, Except (Sometimes) on days that start with "S".

My thoughts are that we can enjoy food each and everyday even on No S Day's. For example I had an egg sandwich and yogurt for breakfast this morning and they tasted delicious and nourished me and in it's own little way it brought in me a good feeling.

Diets (except yours) make me feel miserable every second of the day because you can never do the diet good enough there is always room for improvement the standard is so high. With The No S Diet you don't feel that way and you are even encouraged to enjoy food.

I had read the comments here when I first joined back up, but finally got a chance to listen to this podcast today. I really think the difference is profound--and it's one that I didn't pick up on when I tried NoS a number of years ago (or if I did, it didn't "stick" in my mind.) I think it's easy for people to readily categorize components of a diet--okay, this is how it restricts intake, this is how a cheat day works...and totally miss that there's something that should be natural--and yet is revolutionary to modern American thinking--going on here.

Anyway, reading this thread when I came back to NoS after Thanksgiving did, I think, have a lot to do with me reframing my thinking patterns, focusing on enjoying food on both N and S days, and enjoying S days as treats, celebratory, earned, a time for fun with others etc...

It's actually enjoyable. I think I missed that before and did have the mindset of "stuff as much as you can on these days before the well runs dry...." which is a pretty dismal way to look at the upcoming N days!_________________Homeschool Mom and No S returnee as of Monday, November 30, 2015.

I just got to listen to this podcast - and agree totally. I love the no-shame of the HabitCal - it's just Green, Yellow, or Red - move on! I feel sorry every time I read/hear someone talk about starting a new 'diet' which involves counting, scoring, 'treats' or 'sins' ..... so glad I found this system!_________________I love Everyday Systems :3

Well, how about that? I was the last person to post on this thread, over a year ago! I love all the podcasts, but this one is great for reinforcing the benefits of S days. I really hope that anyone who has problems with S days comes over to listen to this one again. I've stuck to Saturday/Sunday S days now for almost 2 years of No S-ing. My S day eating has become so much more sane - and Reinhard is right, the habit starts to spill over into S days - and I enjoy my S day 'treats' so much!_________________I love Everyday Systems :3

I didn't listen to the whole thing, but I've got an opinion anyway! I hate the term cheat day. And thinking of it as an extra pleasure day eventually lets you weigh if it really is more pleasure. The longer I stay, the less important the sweets become. I still like sometimes having a day-really just part of the day- to graze, to open the fridge and sample this and that. The "window" and amounts are decreasing as it kind of wears off or leaves me a little too full. But I'm still not cheating. I'm eating, just like I'm doing when I eat less.

I posted partly so you wouldn't have to be alone, Gill!_________________Count plates, not calories. Three a day. 7 years & counting
Age 63 SBMI Jan/10-30.8 Jan/12-26.8 Mar/13-24.9 Dec/15 24.8 held steady +/- 8-lb. for two years Mar/17 22.8